US20180152318A1 - Ring protection network module - Google Patents
Ring protection network module Download PDFInfo
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- US20180152318A1 US20180152318A1 US15/578,216 US201515578216A US2018152318A1 US 20180152318 A1 US20180152318 A1 US 20180152318A1 US 201515578216 A US201515578216 A US 201515578216A US 2018152318 A1 US2018152318 A1 US 2018152318A1
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- Prior art keywords
- network
- ring protection
- owner
- ring
- protection network
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/42—Loop networks
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
- H04L12/46—Interconnection of networks
- H04L12/4637—Interconnected ring systems
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
- H04L41/08—Configuration management of networks or network elements
- H04L41/0803—Configuration setting
- H04L41/0813—Configuration setting characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings
- H04L41/0816—Configuration setting characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L45/00—Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks
- H04L45/18—Loop-free operations
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L45/00—Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks
- H04L45/22—Alternate routing
Definitions
- network modules e.g., Ethernet switches, Virtual Connect fabrics, etc.
- Network modules may be linked in a variety of topologies.
- a ring topology provides a redundant path between each network module connected in a ring.
- a network module may be connected between two other network modules using two separate communication links.
- the two communication links may send data, messages, packets, etc. in opposite directions (e.g., clockwise and counterclockwise) around the ring.
- FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic diagram of an example system of example ring protection networks including example ring protection network modules that may be implemented in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure.
- FIG. 1B illustrates a schematic diagram of the example system of FIG. 1A after joining the ring protection networks using the ring protection network modules in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure.
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example ring protection network module that may be implemented in the example ring protection networks of FIG. 1A and/or 1B in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure.
- FIG. 3 is a protocol diagram of example communications between ring protection network modules that may each be implemented by the ring protection network module of FIG. 2 in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure.
- FIGS. 4A-40 schematically illustrate joining the ring protection networks of the system of FIG. 1A to form the ring protection network of FIG. 1B in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure.
- FIG. 5 is a flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions that may be executed to implement the ring protection network module of FIG. 2 in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure.
- FIG. 6 is another flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions that may be executed to implement the ring protection network module of FIG. 2 in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure.
- FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example processor platform capable of executing the instructions of FIGS. 5 and/or 6 to implement the ring protection network module of FIG. 2 .
- Examples disclosed herein involve a ring protection network module to facilitate seamlessly joining a ring protection network.
- ring protection network modules may automatically join a ring protection network upon establishing a communication link with the ring protection network.
- the ring protection network modules may automatically select an owner and establish a single uplink between the newly formed ring protection network to prevent a loop in customer traffic within the ring protection network or between the ring protection network and a service network.
- Datacenters may include a plurality of servers or a plurality of enclosures including the servers. Communication between the servers may be facilitated using network modules.
- the example network modules may be configured in a management network ring.
- the example network modules may additionally be connected to a service network of a plurality of customer devices.
- ring protection network modules and protocols facilitate automatic configuration of a management network ring.
- the example ring protection network modules may detect when two ring protection networks are connected to one another, determine a single owner of the newly created ring protection network from the joined ring protection networks, and establish a single uplink from the ring protection networks to the service nework to prevent customer traffic loops in the ring protection networks or between the ring protection networks and the service network. Accordingly, a newly created ring protection network may be established without user intervention to assign an owner of the ring protection network or disable/enable uplinks of the ring protection network to prevent traffic loops.
- An example method includes establishing communication links between a first ring protection network in communication with a service network and a second ring protection network in communication with a service network, the communication links between the first ring protection network and the second ring protection network to form a management network ring; determining an owner of the management network ring; and establishing a single uplink between one network module of the management network ring and the service network.
- a loop or a traffic loop refers to a series of communication links between nodes (e.g., network modules, nodes of a service network, a network, etc.) of a network (or a plurality of networks) that may cause communications to be repeatedly cycled through the communication links and the nodes (consuming bandwidth of the network(s)).
- nodes e.g., network modules, nodes of a service network, a network, etc.
- a network or a plurality of networks
- FIG. 1A illustrates an example system 100 including two ring protection networks 110 , 120 including ring protection modules 102 a - 102 f implemented in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure.
- the example ring protection network modules 102 a - 102 f of FIG. 1A may be referred to herein collectively as the ring protection network modules 102 .
- the example system 100 may control a datacenter (e.g., a system of servers, etc.) that communicates or provides services to a service network 130 .
- the example service network 130 may include a plurality of client or customer devices (e.g., computers, mobile devices, or any other type of computing device) that may access information in the datacenter of the system 100 .
- the ring protection network modules 102 may facilitate communication between servers in communication with each of the ring protection network modules 102 .
- each of the ring protection network modules 102 of FIG. 1A may manage communication with one or more servers.
- the ring protection network modules 102 may be configured in pairs to manage communications for a server enclosure having a plurality of servers.
- the pairs of ring protection network modules 102 may provide redundancy or backup services in the event one of the network modules 102 of a pair fails.
- the example ring protection networks 110 , 120 of FIG. 1A may be G.8032 networks.
- the first ring protection network 110 includes ring protection modules 102 a, 102 b, 102 c and the second ring protection network 120 includes ring protection modules 102 d, 102 e, 102 f.
- the first ring protection network 110 and the second ring protection network 120 may be joined to form a new ring protection network (e.g., see FIGS. 4A-4D ) using communication protocols of the ring protection network modules 102 in accordance with aspects of this disclosure.
- FIGS. 4A-4D An example implementation of a ring protection network module that may be used to implement the ring protection network modules 102 in accordance with aspects of this disclosure is further discussed below in connection with FIG. 2 .
- the ring protection network modules 102 a - 102 c of the first ring protection network 110 communicate via a management network ring 112 (represented by a solid line), such as a virtual local area network (VLAN) (e.g., VLAN 4095 ).
- VLAN virtual local area network
- customer traffic sent/received to/from the service network 130 flows on customer traffic links 114 (represented by the dotted line) between the ring protection network modules 102 a - 102 c.
- customer traffic links 114 represented by the dotted line
- the ring protection network modules 102 a - 102 c may prevent a traffic loop in the customer traffic links 114 to prevent bandwidth errors or clogging (e.g., due to repeated transmission of data around the loop) of customer traffic by enabling a single uplink 116 from one ring protection network module (the ring protection network module 102 b in FIG. 1A ) of the first ring protection network 110 to the service network 130 .
- the example ring protection network modules 102 d - 102 f of the second ring protection network 120 communicate via another management network ring 122 .
- the ring protection network modules 102 d - 102 f enable communication between the ring protection network modules 102 d - 102 f and the service network 130 . Similar to the first ring protection network 110 , the ring protection network modules 102 d - 102 f prevent a loop in the customer traffic links 124 in accordance with examples herein by using a single uplink 126 to the service network 130 .
- FIG. 1B illustrates a new ring protection network 150 created by joining the first ring protection network 110 and the second ring protection network 120 of FIG. 1A using the ring protection network modules 102 a - 102 f in accordance with examples herein.
- the example first ring protection network 110 is joined to the second ring protection network 120 in FIG. 1B via wired connections (e.g., an Ethernet connection), switches, etc. between a first pair of ring protection network modules 102 a, 102 d and between a second pair of ring protection network modules 102 c, 102 f.
- wired connections e.g., an Ethernet connection
- switches etc.
- other connections between the network modules 102 a - 102 f may be made to connect the first and second ring protection networks 110 , 120 .
- FIG. 1B illustrates a new ring protection network 150 created by joining the first ring protection network 110 and the second ring protection network 120 of FIG. 1A using the ring protection network modules 102 a
- the new ring protection network 150 may communicate via management network ring 152 (represented by a solid line).
- management network ring 152 represented by a solid line.
- only a single uplink (from the ring protection network module 102 b ) is enabled to prevent a loop when combining the first and second ring protection networks 110 , 120 .
- the uplink 126 from the second ring protection network 120 to the service network 130 may be disabled to prevent a loop (which may be caused by the presence of both the uplink 116 of the first ring protection network 110 and the uplink 126 of the second ring protection network 120 being active).
- the ring protection network modules 102 a - 102 f may communicate with one another to create the new ring protection network 150 from the first and second ring protection networks 110 , 120 in accordance with examples herein.
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example ring protection network module 200 that may be implemented in the example ring protection networks 110 , 120 , 150 of FIGS. 1A and/or 1B in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure.
- the ring protection network module 200 of FIG. 2 may be used to implement the network modules 102 of FIG. 1 .
- the ring protection network module 200 includes an owner identifier 210 , an owner selector 220 , a ring protection manager 230 , and a network uplink manager 240 .
- the owner identifier 210 analyzes owners of the ring protection networks 110 , 120 of FIG.
- the owner selector 220 selects an owner from the owners of the ring protection networks 110 , 120 when the ring protection networks 110 , 120 are joined, the ring protection manager 230 prevents traffic loops between the ring protection networks 110 , 120 and the service network 130 , and the network uplink manager 240 establishes a single uplink between the joined ring protection networks 110 , 120 and the service network 130 .
- the example owner identifier 210 sends and receives owner identifications (e.g., MAC addresses, serial numbers, Internet protocol (IP) addresses, etc.) to/from network modules of the ring protection networks 110 , 120 .
- owner identifications e.g., MAC addresses, serial numbers, Internet protocol (IP) addresses, etc.
- the owner identifier 210 may utilize a continuity check protocol (CCP) to communicate with network modules adjacent the network module 200 of FIG. 2 .
- CCP continuity check protocol
- an owner identifier 210 of the ring protection network module 102 b may periodically (or aperiodically) send continuity check messages to the ring protection network modules 102 a, 102 c.
- the ring protection network module 102 b may periodically (or aperiodically) receive continuity check messages from the ring protection network modules 102 a, 102 c.
- the example continuity check messages may include an owner identification that indicates the owner of the ring protection network (e.g., the ring protection networks 110 , 120 of FIG. 1 ) of the ring protection network module 200 .
- the owner identifier 210 may identify an owner identification in the continuity check messages.
- the ring protection network modules 102 of FIGS. 1A and/or 1B may send 802.1d reserve media access control (MAC) address messages point-to-point (p2p) to adjacent ring protection network modules 102 .
- MAC media access control
- the owner ring protection network module 102 may broadcast an owner identification to all ring protection network modules connected to a network. For example, if the ring protection network module 102 a of FIG. 1A is the owner of the first ring protection network 110 , the ring protection network module 102 a may broadcast its owner identification to the remaining ring protection network modules 102 b, 102 c of the first ring protection network 110 . As another example, if the network module 102 b is the owner of the ring protection network 150 of FIG. 1B , the ring protection network module 102 b may broadcasts its owner identification to the remaining ring protection network modules 102 a, 102 c, 102 d, 102 e, 102 f via the management network ring 152 .
- the owner identifier 210 may determine that the adjacent network module has been disconnected or removed from the ring protection network. In such an example, the ring protection network may enter an inactive state (e.g., a signal fail condition may be set).
- a threshold period of time e.g. 1 second, 10 milliseconds, etc.
- the owner identifier 210 of the ring protection network module 102 a may determine that the connection between the ring protection network module 102 a and the ring protection network module 102 c has been disabled.
- the owner of the first ring protection network 110 may enable a link (e.g., a link that was previously inactivated to prevent a loop) in the ring protection network 110 .
- the example owner selector 220 of FIG. 2 selects an owner for the ring protection network module 200 when the ring protection network module is connected to a ring protection network (e.g., the ring protection networks 110 , 120 , 150 ).
- a ring protection network e.g., the ring protection networks 110 , 120 , 150
- the owner selector 220 of the network modules 102 of FIG. 1B selects an owner (e.g., the ring protection network module 102 b ) for the new ring protection network 150 created from the combined ring protection networks 110 , 120 .
- the owner selector 220 may select an owner for the new ring protection network 150 based on owner identifications of owners of the ring protection networks 110 , 120 .
- the owner selector 220 may utilize an owner selection protocol (OSP) that compares a MAC address of an owner identification in a message (e.g., a CCP message from an adjacent ring protection network module, or a multicast OSP message from an owner in communication with the ring protection network module 200 ) to a MAC address of the ring protection network module 200 of FIG. 2 .
- OSP owner selection protocol
- the owner selector 220 selects an owner for the newly combined ring protection network (e.g., the ring protection network 150 ) from the owners identified by the MAC addresses. For example, the owner selector 220 may select the owner having a lower (or lowest) valued MAC address.
- the owner selector 220 of an ring protection network module (e.g., the ring protection network modules 102 d - 102 f ) in the second ring protection network 120 may replace the owner of the ring protection network module with the owner of the first ring protection network 110 by assigning the ring protection network module to the owner (e.g., the ring protection network module 102 b ) of the first ring protection network 110 .
- the ring protection network module from the second ring protection network 120 may effectively join the first ring protection network 110 .
- Such a change in an ring protection network module in the second ring protection network 120 may cascade through remaining modules (see FIGS. 4A-4D ) due to sending the new owner identification (MAC address) until all ring protection network modules of the second ring protection network 120 are joined to the first ring protection network 110 creating a new ring protection network e.g., the ring protection network 150 of FIG. 1B ).
- MAC address new owner identification
- the example ring protection manager 230 of FIG. 2 prevents a loop in a ring protection network (e.g., the ring protection networks 110 , 120 , 150 of FIGS. 1A or 1B ) of the ring protection network module 200 of FIG. 2 by disabling a link between the ring protection network module 200 and the service network 130 .
- a ring protection network e.g., the ring protection networks 110 , 120 , 150 of FIGS. 1A or 1B
- an owner e.g., the ring protection network module 102 b
- the ring protection manager 230 may communicate via G.8032 protocol to identify and disable uplinks or connections between ring protection network modules that may cause a loop between ring protection network modules of a ring protection network or between a ring protection network and a service network (e.g., the service network 130 ). For example, the ring protection manager 230 may disable a link in the management network ring to prevent a loop and the ring protection manager 230 may disable an uplink to the service network 130 , Accordingly, in example herein, the ring protection manager 230 may prevent two sources of loops from creating a traffic loop.
- the ring protection manager 230 of FIG. 2 may deactivate/disable an uplink from the ring protection network module 200 to the service network 130 if the owner identifier 210 determines that a different owner identification than that of an assigned owner of the ring protection network module 200 has been received (e.g., via CCP message).
- the ring protection manager 230 may deactivate/disable a link in the management network ring of a ring protection network when the owner identifier 210 receives a different owner identification that that of the assigned owner of the ring protection network module,
- the network uplink manager 240 disable/deactivate the uplink in this case because the different owner identifications may indicate that the network module 200 is joining another ring protection network or another ring protection network module is joining the ring protection network of the ring protection network 200 .
- the example network uplink manager 240 of FIG. 2 manages uplinks from the ring protection network module 200 to a service network (e.g., the service network 130 ). More specifically, the network uplink manager 240 may activate/enable or deactivate/disable an uplink from the ring protection network module 200 to the service network 130 based on a state of the ring protection network of the ring protection network module 200 . The network uplink manager 240 may activate an uplink in response to instructions from an owner or if the network module 200 is the owner. In some examples herein, once the ring protection networks 110 , 120 of FIG.
- the network uplink manager 240 may identify all potential uplinks from the new ring protection network 150 to the service network 130 . For example, if the network module 200 is the owner of the ring protection network 150 , the network uplink manager 240 may identify which of the network modules 102 (e.g., the network modules 102 b, 102 e ) of FIGS. 1A have a communication link (e.g., the uplinks 116 , 126 ) with the service network 130 .
- the network modules 102 e.g., the network modules 102 b, 102 e
- the network uplink manager 240 may select a single active uplink (e.g., either the uplink 116 or the uplink 126 ) to the service network 130 .
- the network uplink manager 240 may identify that a ring protection network (e.g., the ring protection network 150 ) is complete after the owner identifier 210 does not detect different owner identifications (e.g., in CCP messages) after a threshold period of time.
- any of the owner identifier 210 , the owner selector 220 , the ring protection manager 230 , the network uplink manager 240 , and/or, more generally, the example ring protection network module 200 could be implemented by at least one of an analog or digital circuit, a logic circuit, a programmable processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) and/or a field programmable logic device (FPLD).
- ASIC application specific integrated circuit
- PLD programmable logic device
- FPLD field programmable logic device
- At least one of the owner identifier 210 , the owner selector 220 , the ring protection manager 230 , and the network uplink manager 240 is/are hereby expressly defined to include a tangible computer readable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc. storing the executable instructions.
- the example ring protection network module 200 of FIG. 2 may include at least one element, process, and/or device in addition to, or instead of, those illustrated in FIG. 2 , and/or may include more than one of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes and devices.
- FIG. 3 is a protocol diagram of example communications between module link ports 300 a, 300 b that may each be implemented by the ring protection network module 200 of FIG. 2 in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure.
- the module link ports 300 a, 300 b may represent connections to the ring protection network modules 102 a, 102 b of FIGS. 1A or 1B or the ring protection network module 200 of FIG. 2 .
- the link ports 300 a, 300 b include a VLAN 4095 communication link and a VLAN 4092 communication link.
- the VLAN 4095 communication link may be used as a communication link for a management network ring of a ring protection network and the VLAN 4092 may be used for customer traffic.
- the VLAN 4095 communication link may be used to send CCP communications, OSP communications, G.8032 communications, and MPSP communications
- the owner identifier 210 may send/receive an owner identification corresponding to an owner of the ring protection network modules of the link ports via the CCP protocol of FIG. 3
- the example owner selector 220 may send owner selection information via the OSP protocol.
- the ring protection manager 230 may disable uplinks or send instructions to disable uplinks via the G.8032 protocol.
- the network uplink manager 240 may activate an uplink or send instructions to activate an uplink via the MPSP protocol illustrated in FIG. 3 .
- the communication protocols utilized in the VLAN 4095 communication link of FIG. 3 may be used to join or maintain ring protection networks (e.g., the ring protection networks 110 , 120 , 150 ) in accordance with aspects of this disclosure.
- FIGS. 4A-4C schematically illustrate joining the ring protection networks 110 , 120 of the system 100 of FIG. 1A to form the ring protection network 150 of FIG. 1B in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure.
- the owner MAC address of the ring protection network modules 102 is indicated with the corresponding module at that particular moment.
- the connections between the modules 102 of FIGS. 4A-4C may include the communication links (e.g., the VLAN 4095 and the VLAN 4092 ) of FIG. 3 .
- the ring protection network module 102 b is the owner of the ring protection network 110 and the ring protection network module 102 e is the owner of the prn 120 .
- the FIGS. 4A-4C sequentially show the ring protection network modules 102 d - 102 f of the second ring protection network 120 joining the first ring protection network 110 in a cascading manner.
- communication links 402 are established between the first ring protection network 110 and the second ring protection network 120 .
- the communication links may be established by connecting a wire, activating a switch, etc.
- the communication links 402 may be virtual communication links.
- the MAC address of the owner 102 b of the first ring protection network 110 is “3”
- the MAC address of the owner 102 e of the second ring protection network 120 is “4.” Accordingly, both the first and second ring protection networks 110 , 120 have different owners 102 b, 102 e respectively in FIG. 4A .
- the ring protection network modules 102 d, 102 f join the first ring protection network 110 by assigning the owner MAC address “3” to the respective modules. Accordingly, in FIG. 4B , the owner of the ring protection network modules 102 d, 102 f is the ring protection network module 102 b.
- the owner identifiers 210 of the ring protection network modules 102 d, 102 f identify that the MAC address (i.e., the owner identification) of the ring protection network modules 102 a, 102 c, respectively, are different than the owner MAC address of the owner of the ring protection network modules 102 d, 102 f. Furthermore, the ring protection manager 230 disables customer traffic links between (denoted by the dotted line) the ring protection network module 102 e and the adjacent ring protection network modules 102 d, 102 f.
- the owner selector 220 of the ring protection network modules 102 d, 102 f select an owner from the owners of the ring protection networks 110 , 120 based on the difference in the MAC addresses.
- the owner selector 220 selects the owner that has a lower MAC address.
- different techniques e.g., based on higher MAC address, higher/lower serial number, higher/lower IP address, etc. may be used to select the owner.
- the ring protection networks may effectively be joined as illustrated in the example of FIGS. 4A-4C .
- the last network module 102 e has joined the first ring protection network 110 by adopting a new owner in a similar manner as the network modules 102 d, 102 f of FIG. 4B .
- the owner identifier 210 of the ring protection network module 102 e detects the ring protection network modules 102 d, 102 f have different owners (based on CCP messages indicating different owner identification) than the ring protection network module 102 e
- the ring protection manager 230 of the ring protection network module 102 e disables the uplink 126 to prevent a loop in the ring protection network 150 .
- FIG. 4C when the owner identifier 210 of the ring protection network module 102 e detects the ring protection network modules 102 d, 102 f have different owners (based on CCP messages indicating different owner identification) than the ring protection network module 102 e, the ring protection manager 230 of the ring protection network module 102 e disables the uplink 126 to prevent a loop in the
- the ring protection manager 230 disables a link between the owner ring protection module 102 b and an adjacent ring protection module 102 a to prevent a loop in the network management ring (denoted by dashed dotted line).
- the network uplink manager 240 of the ring protection network module 102 b may ensure that a single uplink 116 is established between the new ring protection network 150 and the service network 130 to prevent a loop in customer traffic. Accordingly, in FIG. 4C the ring protection networks 110 , 120 were joined in accordance with examples herein.
- FIGS. 5 and 6 Flowcharts representative of example machine readable instructions for implementing the ring protection network module 200 of FIG. 2 are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 .
- the machine readable instructions comprise a program/process for execution by a processor such as the processor 712 shown in the example processor platform 700 discussed below in connection with FIG. 7 .
- the program(s)/process(es) may be embodied in executable instructions (e.g., software) stored on a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor 712 , but the entire program/process and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor 712 and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware.
- a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor 712 , but the entire program/process and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor 712 and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware.
- the example program(s)/process(es) is/are described with reference to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6
- the example process 500 of FIG. 5 begins with an initiation of the ring protection network module 200 (e.g., upon startup, upon instructions from a user, upon startup of a device implementing the ring protection network module 200 (e.g., an enclosure processor), etc.).
- the process 500 of FIG. 5 may be executed to join the two ring protection network 110 , 120 of FIG. 1A to create the ring protection network 150 of FIG. 1B .
- the ring protection network module 200 establishes communication links between a first ring protection network and a second ring protection network to form a management network ring.
- the ring protection network module 200 may be part of the first ring protection network and may be connected to or detect a connection (e.g., via owner identifier 210 analyzing CCP messages) to a ring protection network module of the second ring protection network module.
- the ring protection networks may be in communication with a service network (e.g., the service network 130 ).
- the ring protection network module 200 determines an owner of the management network ring. For example, at block 520 , the owner selector 220 may select an owner of the first ring protection network or an owner of the second ring protection network to be the owner of the management network ring.
- the network uplink manager 240 of the network module establishes a single uplink between one network module of the management network ring and the service network. For example, at block 530 , the network uplink manager 240 may disable other uplinks between network modules of the management network ring (e.g., an uplink from one of the first ring protection network or second ring protection network).
- the example process 600 of FIG. 6 begins with an initiation of the ring protection network module 200 .
- each of the ring protection network modules 102 may be implemented by executing the process 600 of FIG. 6 simultaneously or substantially simultaneously while connected to a same ring protection network or a plurality of ring protection networks in communication with one another.
- the owner identifier 210 identifies a first owner of a first ring protection network, For example, the owner identifier 210 may identify the ring protection network module 102 b to be the owner of the first ring protection network 110 of FIG. 1A .
- the owner identifier 210 may send an owner identification via a management network ring (e.g., the MAC address of the ring protection network module 102 b ) to ring protection network modules in communication with the first ring protection network (e.g., to any of the ring protection network modules 102 of FIGS. 1A or 1B ).
- the first owner identification identifies an owner of the first network of the ring protection network module 200 .
- the owner identifier 210 of the ring protection network module 200 of FIG. 2 receives a second owner identification that is different form the first owner identification via the management network ring.
- the ring protection network module 102 d may receive an owner identification indicating a first owner of the first ring protection network 110 from the ring protection network module 102 a.
- the owner selector replaces the first owner with the second owner to control communication between the first network and the service network based on the difference between the second owner identification and the first owner identification by assigning the second owner identification to the network module.
- the example processes 500 , 600 of FIGS. 5 and/or 6 may be implemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readable instructions) stored on a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, a random-access memory (RAM) and/or any other storage device or storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information).
- coded instructions e.g., computer and/or machine readable instructions
- a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, a random-access memory (RAM) and/or any other storage device or storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for
- tangible computer readable storage medium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media.
- tangible computer readable storage medium and “tangible machine readable storage medium” are used interchangeably. Additionally or alternatively, the example processes of FIGS.
- 5 and/or 6 may be implemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/or machine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, a random-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information).
- a non-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media.
- FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 700 capable of executing the instructions of FIGS. 5 and/or 6 to implement the ring protection network module 200 of FIG. 2 .
- the example processor platform 700 may be or may be included in any type of apparatus, such as a server, a personal computer, an Internet appliance, or any other type of computing device.
- the processor platform 700 of the illustrated example of FIG. 7 includes a processor 712 .
- the processor 712 of the illustrated example is hardware,
- the processor 712 can be implemented by at least one integrated circuit, logic circuit, microprocessor or controller from any desired family or manufacturer.
- the processor 712 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 713 (e.g., a cache).
- the processor 712 of the illustrated example is in communication with a main memory including a volatile memory 714 and a non-volatile memory 716 via a bus 718 .
- the volatile memory 714 may be implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM) and/or any other type of random access memory device.
- the non-volatile memory 716 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 714 , 716 is controlled by a memory controller.
- the processor platform 700 of the illustrated example also includes an interface circuit 720 .
- the interface circuit 720 may be implemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) express interface.
- At least one input device 722 is connected to the interface circuit 720 .
- the input device(s) 722 permit(s) a user to enter data and commands into the processor 712 .
- the input device(s) can be implemented by, for example, a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, etc.
- At least one output device 724 is also connected to the interface circuit 720 of the illustrated example.
- the output device(s) 724 can be implemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emitting diode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystal display, a cathode ray tube display (CRT), a touchscreen, a tactile output device, a light emitting diode (LED), a printer and/or speakers).
- the interface circuit 720 of the illustrated example thus, may include a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip or a graphics driver processor.
- the interface circuit 720 of the illustrated example also includes a communication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a modem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network 726 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).
- a communication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a modem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network 726 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).
- DSL digital subscriber line
- the processor platform 700 of the illustrated example also includes at least one mass storage device 728 for storing executable instructions (e.g., software) and/or data.
- executable instructions e.g., software
- Examples of such mass storage device(s) 728 include floppy disk drives, hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAID systems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.
- the coded instructions 732 of FIGS. 5 and/or 6 may be stored in the mass storage device 728 , in the local memory 713 in the volatile memory 714 , in the non-volatile memory 716 , and/or on a removable tangible computer readable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.
- the above disclosed methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture provide ring protection network modules to facilitate automatic configuration of a ring protection network.
- the example ring protection network modules may automatically select an owner of a ring protection network and establish a single uplink between the ring protection network and a service network.
- two ring protection networks comprised of the ring protection network modules disclosed herein may be joined, and, using the example communication protocols disclosed herein, the ring protection network modules may automatically establish a single owner of the joined ring protection networks and a single uplink with a service network from the joined ring protection networks.
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Abstract
Description
- In a datacenter, network modules (e.g., Ethernet switches, Virtual Connect fabrics, etc.) may be linked to enhance connectivity and redundancy. Network modules may be linked in a variety of topologies. A ring topology provides a redundant path between each network module connected in a ring. Accordingly, a network module may be connected between two other network modules using two separate communication links. In some examples, the two communication links may send data, messages, packets, etc. in opposite directions (e.g., clockwise and counterclockwise) around the ring.
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FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic diagram of an example system of example ring protection networks including example ring protection network modules that may be implemented in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure. -
FIG. 1B illustrates a schematic diagram of the example system ofFIG. 1A after joining the ring protection networks using the ring protection network modules in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure. -
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example ring protection network module that may be implemented in the example ring protection networks ofFIG. 1A and/or 1B in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure. -
FIG. 3 is a protocol diagram of example communications between ring protection network modules that may each be implemented by the ring protection network module ofFIG. 2 in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure. -
FIGS. 4A-40 schematically illustrate joining the ring protection networks of the system ofFIG. 1A to form the ring protection network ofFIG. 1B in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure. -
FIG. 5 is a flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions that may be executed to implement the ring protection network module ofFIG. 2 in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure. -
FIG. 6 is another flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions that may be executed to implement the ring protection network module ofFIG. 2 in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure. -
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example processor platform capable of executing the instructions ofFIGS. 5 and/or 6 to implement the ring protection network module ofFIG. 2 . - Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts.
- Examples disclosed herein involve a ring protection network module to facilitate seamlessly joining a ring protection network. In examples herein, ring protection network modules may automatically join a ring protection network upon establishing a communication link with the ring protection network. The ring protection network modules may automatically select an owner and establish a single uplink between the newly formed ring protection network to prevent a loop in customer traffic within the ring protection network or between the ring protection network and a service network.
- Datacenters may include a plurality of servers or a plurality of enclosures including the servers. Communication between the servers may be facilitated using network modules. The example network modules may be configured in a management network ring. The example network modules may additionally be connected to a service network of a plurality of customer devices. In examples herein, ring protection network modules and protocols facilitate automatic configuration of a management network ring. The example ring protection network modules may detect when two ring protection networks are connected to one another, determine a single owner of the newly created ring protection network from the joined ring protection networks, and establish a single uplink from the ring protection networks to the service nework to prevent customer traffic loops in the ring protection networks or between the ring protection networks and the service network. Accordingly, a newly created ring protection network may be established without user intervention to assign an owner of the ring protection network or disable/enable uplinks of the ring protection network to prevent traffic loops.
- An example method includes establishing communication links between a first ring protection network in communication with a service network and a second ring protection network in communication with a service network, the communication links between the first ring protection network and the second ring protection network to form a management network ring; determining an owner of the management network ring; and establishing a single uplink between one network module of the management network ring and the service network.
- As used herein, a loop or a traffic loop refers to a series of communication links between nodes (e.g., network modules, nodes of a service network, a network, etc.) of a network (or a plurality of networks) that may cause communications to be repeatedly cycled through the communication links and the nodes (consuming bandwidth of the network(s)).
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FIG. 1A illustrates anexample system 100 including tworing protection networks FIG. 1A may be referred to herein collectively as the ring protection network modules 102. Theexample system 100 may control a datacenter (e.g., a system of servers, etc.) that communicates or provides services to aservice network 130. Theexample service network 130 may include a plurality of client or customer devices (e.g., computers, mobile devices, or any other type of computing device) that may access information in the datacenter of thesystem 100. In examples disclosed herein the ring protection network modules 102 may facilitate communication between servers in communication with each of the ring protection network modules 102. For example, each of the ring protection network modules 102 ofFIG. 1A may manage communication with one or more servers. In some examples, the ring protection network modules 102 may be configured in pairs to manage communications for a server enclosure having a plurality of servers. In such an example, the pairs of ring protection network modules 102 may provide redundancy or backup services in the event one of the network modules 102 of a pair fails. The examplering protection networks FIG. 1A may be G.8032 networks. - In the illustrated example of
FIG. 1A , the firstring protection network 110 includesring protection modules ring protection network 120 includesring protection modules ring protection network 110 and the secondring protection network 120 may be joined to form a new ring protection network (e.g., seeFIGS. 4A-4D ) using communication protocols of the ring protection network modules 102 in accordance with aspects of this disclosure. An example implementation of a ring protection network module that may be used to implement the ring protection network modules 102 in accordance with aspects of this disclosure is further discussed below in connection withFIG. 2 . - In the illustrated example of
FIG. 1A , the ring protection network modules 102 a-102 c of the firstring protection network 110 communicate via a management network ring 112 (represented by a solid line), such as a virtual local area network (VLAN) (e.g., VLAN 4095). InFIG. 1A , customer traffic sent/received to/from theservice network 130 flows on customer traffic links 114 (represented by the dotted line) between the ring protection network modules 102 a-102 c. As illustrated inFIG. 1A , the ring protection network modules 102 a-102 c may prevent a traffic loop in thecustomer traffic links 114 to prevent bandwidth errors or clogging (e.g., due to repeated transmission of data around the loop) of customer traffic by enabling asingle uplink 116 from one ring protection network module (the ringprotection network module 102 b inFIG. 1A ) of the firstring protection network 110 to theservice network 130. Additionally, inFIG. 1A , the example ringprotection network modules 102 d-102 f of the secondring protection network 120 communicate via anothermanagement network ring 122.Customer traffic links 124 for the secondring protection network 120 ofFIG. 1A enable communication between the ringprotection network modules 102 d-102 f and theservice network 130. Similar to the firstring protection network 110, the ringprotection network modules 102 d-102 f prevent a loop in thecustomer traffic links 124 in accordance with examples herein by using asingle uplink 126 to theservice network 130. -
FIG. 1B illustrates a newring protection network 150 created by joining the firstring protection network 110 and the secondring protection network 120 ofFIG. 1A using the ring protection network modules 102 a-102 f in accordance with examples herein. The example firstring protection network 110 is joined to the secondring protection network 120 inFIG. 1B via wired connections (e.g., an Ethernet connection), switches, etc. between a first pair of ringprotection network modules protection network modules ring protection networks FIG. 1B , the newring protection network 150 may communicate via management network ring 152 (represented by a solid line). In the example ofFIG. 1B , only a single uplink (from the ringprotection network module 102 b) is enabled to prevent a loop when combining the first and secondring protection networks ring protection network 120 was joined with the firstring protection network 110, theuplink 126 from the secondring protection network 120 to theservice network 130 may be disabled to prevent a loop (which may be caused by the presence of both theuplink 116 of the firstring protection network 110 and theuplink 126 of the secondring protection network 120 being active). In examples disclosed herein, the ring protection network modules 102 a-102 f may communicate with one another to create the newring protection network 150 from the first and secondring protection networks -
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example ringprotection network module 200 that may be implemented in the examplering protection networks FIGS. 1A and/or 1B in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure. For example, the ringprotection network module 200 ofFIG. 2 may be used to implement the network modules 102 ofFIG. 1 . In the illustrated example ofFIG. 2 , the ringprotection network module 200 includes anowner identifier 210, anowner selector 220, aring protection manager 230, and anetwork uplink manager 240. In examples disclosed herein, theowner identifier 210 analyzes owners of thering protection networks FIG. 1 , theowner selector 220 selects an owner from the owners of thering protection networks ring protection networks ring protection manager 230 prevents traffic loops between thering protection networks service network 130, and thenetwork uplink manager 240 establishes a single uplink between the joinedring protection networks service network 130. - The
example owner identifier 210 sends and receives owner identifications (e.g., MAC addresses, serial numbers, Internet protocol (IP) addresses, etc.) to/from network modules of thering protection networks owner identifier 210 may utilize a continuity check protocol (CCP) to communicate with network modules adjacent thenetwork module 200 ofFIG. 2 . Referring to the example ofFIG. 1A , anowner identifier 210 of the ringprotection network module 102 b may periodically (or aperiodically) send continuity check messages to the ringprotection network modules protection network module 102 b may periodically (or aperiodically) receive continuity check messages from the ringprotection network modules ring protection networks FIG. 1 ) of the ringprotection network module 200. In examples disclosed herein, theowner identifier 210 may identify an owner identification in the continuity check messages. For example, the ring protection network modules 102 ofFIGS. 1A and/or 1B may send 802.1d reserve media access control (MAC) address messages point-to-point (p2p) to adjacent ring protection network modules 102. In some examples, when one of the ring protection network modules 102 is an owner, the owner ring protection network module 102 may broadcast an owner identification to all ring protection network modules connected to a network. For example, if the ringprotection network module 102 a ofFIG. 1A is the owner of the firstring protection network 110, the ringprotection network module 102 a may broadcast its owner identification to the remaining ringprotection network modules ring protection network 110. As another example, if thenetwork module 102 b is the owner of thering protection network 150 ofFIG. 1B , the ringprotection network module 102 b may broadcasts its owner identification to the remaining ringprotection network modules management network ring 152. - In examples herein, if the
owner identifier 210 does not receive an appropriate number of messages (e.g., data packets, 802.1 d reserve MAC address messages, etc.) within a threshold period of time (e.g., 1 second, 10 milliseconds, etc.) from an adjacent network module, then theowner identifier 210 may determine that the adjacent network module has been disconnected or removed from the ring protection network. In such an example, the ring protection network may enter an inactive state (e.g., a signal fail condition may be set). For example, if the ringprotection network module 102 a does not receive a specified number of packets within a threshold time period from the ringprotection network module 102 c, theowner identifier 210 of the ringprotection network module 102 a may determine that the connection between the ringprotection network module 102 a and the ringprotection network module 102 c has been disabled. In such an example, the owner of the firstring protection network 110 may enable a link (e.g., a link that was previously inactivated to prevent a loop) in thering protection network 110. - The
example owner selector 220 ofFIG. 2 selects an owner for the ringprotection network module 200 when the ring protection network module is connected to a ring protection network (e.g., thering protection networks ring protection network 110 is joined with thering protection network 120 ofFIG. 1A , theowner selector 220 of the network modules 102 ofFIG. 1B selects an owner (e.g., the ringprotection network module 102 b) for the newring protection network 150 created from the combinedring protection networks owner selector 220 may select an owner for the newring protection network 150 based on owner identifications of owners of thering protection networks owner selector 220 may utilize an owner selection protocol (OSP) that compares a MAC address of an owner identification in a message (e.g., a CCP message from an adjacent ring protection network module, or a multicast OSP message from an owner in communication with the ring protection network module 200) to a MAC address of the ringprotection network module 200 ofFIG. 2 . If the MAC addresses are different from one another (indicating that a new ring protection network (e.g., the second ring protection network 120) was joined with the ring protection network (e.g., the first ring protection network 110) of the ring protection network module 200), then theowner selector 220 selects an owner for the newly combined ring protection network (e.g., the ring protection network 150) from the owners identified by the MAC addresses. For example, theowner selector 220 may select the owner having a lower (or lowest) valued MAC address. Accordingly, if a MAC address of an owner of the firstring protection network 110 is lower than a MAC address of an owner of the secondring protection network 120, theowner selector 220 of an ring protection network module (e.g., the ringprotection network modules 102 d-102 f) in the secondring protection network 120 may replace the owner of the ring protection network module with the owner of the firstring protection network 110 by assigning the ring protection network module to the owner (e.g., the ringprotection network module 102 b) of the firstring protection network 110. In such an example, the ring protection network module from the secondring protection network 120 may effectively join the firstring protection network 110. Such a change in an ring protection network module in the secondring protection network 120 may cascade through remaining modules (seeFIGS. 4A-4D ) due to sending the new owner identification (MAC address) until all ring protection network modules of the secondring protection network 120 are joined to the firstring protection network 110 creating a new ring protection network e.g., thering protection network 150 ofFIG. 1B ). - The example
ring protection manager 230 ofFIG. 2 prevents a loop in a ring protection network (e.g., thering protection networks FIGS. 1A or 1B ) of the ringprotection network module 200 ofFIG. 2 by disabling a link between the ringprotection network module 200 and theservice network 130. For example, when the secondring protection network 120 is joined with the firstring protection network 110 inFIG. 1B , an owner (e.g., the ringprotection network module 102 b) may disable theuplink 126 from the ringprotection network module 102 e or instruct the ringprotection network module 102 e to display the uplink 126 (e.g., after the ringprotection network module 102 e reassigns its owner to the owner of the first ring protection network 110) in the secondring protection network 120 prior to creating the new combinedring protection network 150. In examples herein, thering protection manager 230 may communicate via G.8032 protocol to identify and disable uplinks or connections between ring protection network modules that may cause a loop between ring protection network modules of a ring protection network or between a ring protection network and a service network (e.g., the service network 130). For example, thering protection manager 230 may disable a link in the management network ring to prevent a loop and thering protection manager 230 may disable an uplink to theservice network 130, Accordingly, in example herein, thering protection manager 230 may prevent two sources of loops from creating a traffic loop. - In examples herein, the
ring protection manager 230 ofFIG. 2 may deactivate/disable an uplink from the ringprotection network module 200 to theservice network 130 if theowner identifier 210 determines that a different owner identification than that of an assigned owner of the ringprotection network module 200 has been received (e.g., via CCP message). Additionally or alternatively, thering protection manager 230 may deactivate/disable a link in the management network ring of a ring protection network when theowner identifier 210 receives a different owner identification that that of the assigned owner of the ring protection network module, Thenetwork uplink manager 240 disable/deactivate the uplink in this case because the different owner identifications may indicate that thenetwork module 200 is joining another ring protection network or another ring protection network module is joining the ring protection network of thering protection network 200. - The example
network uplink manager 240 ofFIG. 2 manages uplinks from the ringprotection network module 200 to a service network (e.g., the service network 130). More specifically, thenetwork uplink manager 240 may activate/enable or deactivate/disable an uplink from the ringprotection network module 200 to theservice network 130 based on a state of the ring protection network of the ringprotection network module 200. Thenetwork uplink manager 240 may activate an uplink in response to instructions from an owner or if thenetwork module 200 is the owner. In some examples herein, once thering protection networks FIG. 1A are combined to form the newring protection network 150, thenetwork uplink manager 240 may identify all potential uplinks from the newring protection network 150 to theservice network 130. For example, if thenetwork module 200 is the owner of thering protection network 150, thenetwork uplink manager 240 may identify which of the network modules 102 (e.g., thenetwork modules FIGS. 1A have a communication link (e.g., theuplinks 116, 126) with theservice network 130. Of the network modules 102 having a link to the service network, thenetwork uplink manager 240 may select a single active uplink (e.g., either theuplink 116 or the uplink 126) to theservice network 130. In examples herein, thenetwork uplink manager 240 may identify that a ring protection network (e.g., the ring protection network 150) is complete after theowner identifier 210 does not detect different owner identifications (e.g., in CCP messages) after a threshold period of time. - While an example manner of implementing the ring protection network modules 102 of
FIGS. 1A and 1B is illustrated inFIG. 2 , at least one of the elements, processes and/or devices of the ringprotection network module 200 illustrated inFIG. 2 may be combined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way. Further theowner identifier 210, theowner selector 220, thering protection manager 230, thenetwork uplink manager 240, and/or, more generally, the example ringprotection network module 200 ofFIG. 2 may be implemented by hardware and/or any combination of hardware and executable instructions (e.g., software and/or firmware). Thus, for example, any of theowner identifier 210, theowner selector 220, thering protection manager 230, thenetwork uplink manager 240, and/or, more generally, the example ringprotection network module 200 could be implemented by at least one of an analog or digital circuit, a logic circuit, a programmable processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD) and/or a field programmable logic device (FPLD). When reading any of the apparatus or system claims of this patent o cover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one of theowner identifier 210, theowner selector 220, thering protection manager 230, and thenetwork uplink manager 240 is/are hereby expressly defined to include a tangible computer readable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc. storing the executable instructions. Further still, the example ringprotection network module 200 ofFIG. 2 may include at least one element, process, and/or device in addition to, or instead of, those illustrated inFIG. 2 , and/or may include more than one of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes and devices. -
FIG. 3 is a protocol diagram of example communications between module link ports 300 a, 300 b that may each be implemented by the ringprotection network module 200 ofFIG. 2 in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure. For example, the module link ports 300 a, 300 b may represent connections to the ringprotection network modules FIGS. 1A or 1B or the ringprotection network module 200 ofFIG. 2 . In the illustrated example ofFIG. 3 , the link ports 300 a, 300 b include aVLAN 4095 communication link and aVLAN 4092 communication link. In examples herein, theVLAN 4095 communication link may be used as a communication link for a management network ring of a ring protection network and theVLAN 4092 may be used for customer traffic. - As illustrated in
FIG. 3 , theVLAN 4095 communication link may be used to send CCP communications, OSP communications, G.8032 communications, and MPSP communications, Accordingly, theowner identifier 210 may send/receive an owner identification corresponding to an owner of the ring protection network modules of the link ports via the CCP protocol ofFIG. 3 , Theexample owner selector 220 may send owner selection information via the OSP protocol. In examples herein, thering protection manager 230 may disable uplinks or send instructions to disable uplinks via the G.8032 protocol. And finally, thenetwork uplink manager 240 may activate an uplink or send instructions to activate an uplink via the MPSP protocol illustrated inFIG. 3 . Accordingly, the communication protocols utilized in theVLAN 4095 communication link ofFIG. 3 may be used to join or maintain ring protection networks (e.g., thering protection networks -
FIGS. 4A-4C schematically illustrate joining thering protection networks system 100 ofFIG. 1A to form thering protection network 150 ofFIG. 1B in accordance with an aspect of this disclosure. InFIGS. 4A-4C , the owner MAC address of the ring protection network modules 102 is indicated with the corresponding module at that particular moment. Additionally, the connections between the modules 102 ofFIGS. 4A-4C may include the communication links (e.g., theVLAN 4095 and the VLAN 4092) ofFIG. 3 . In the following example represented inFIGS. 4A-4C , the ringprotection network module 102 b is the owner of thering protection network 110 and the ringprotection network module 102 e is the owner of theprn 120. As will be discussed below, theFIGS. 4A-4C sequentially show the ringprotection network modules 102 d-102 f of the secondring protection network 120 joining the firstring protection network 110 in a cascading manner. - In
FIG. 4A ,communication links 402 are established between the firstring protection network 110 and the secondring protection network 120. For example, inFIG. 4A , the communication links may be established by connecting a wire, activating a switch, etc. In some examples, the communication links 402 may be virtual communication links. In the illustrated example ofFIG. 4A , the MAC address of theowner 102 b of the firstring protection network 110 is “3” and the MAC address of theowner 102 e of the secondring protection network 120 is “4.” Accordingly, both the first and secondring protection networks different owners FIG. 4A . - In
FIG. 4B , after thecommunication links 402 have been established, the ringprotection network modules ring protection network 110 by assigning the owner MAC address “3” to the respective modules. Accordingly, inFIG. 4B , the owner of the ringprotection network modules protection network module 102 b. To join the firstring protection network 110, theowner identifiers 210 of the ringprotection network modules protection network modules protection network modules ring protection manager 230 disables customer traffic links between (denoted by the dotted line) the ringprotection network module 102 e and the adjacent ringprotection network modules - Accordingly, in
FIG. 4B , theowner selector 220 of the ringprotection network modules ring protection networks FIGS. 4A-4C , theowner selector 220 selects the owner that has a lower MAC address. In some examples, different techniques (e.g., based on higher MAC address, higher/lower serial number, higher/lower IP address, etc.) may be used to select the owner. In examples herein, when all ring protection network modules of a ring protection network or ring protection network modules in communication with the ring protection network utilize a same selection technique and communication links are established with a new ring protection network, the ring protection networks may effectively be joined as illustrated in the example ofFIGS. 4A-4C . - In
FIG. 4C , thelast network module 102 e has joined the firstring protection network 110 by adopting a new owner in a similar manner as thenetwork modules FIG. 4B . Additionally, inFIG. 4C , when theowner identifier 210 of the ringprotection network module 102 e detects the ringprotection network modules protection network module 102 e, thering protection manager 230 of the ringprotection network module 102 e disables theuplink 126 to prevent a loop in thering protection network 150. Additionally, in the example ofFIG. 4C , thering protection manager 230 disables a link between the ownerring protection module 102 b and an adjacentring protection module 102 a to prevent a loop in the network management ring (denoted by dashed dotted line). InFIG. 4C , all of the network modules 102 have asame owner 102 b. Therefore, thenetwork uplink manager 240 of the ringprotection network module 102 b may ensure that asingle uplink 116 is established between the newring protection network 150 and theservice network 130 to prevent a loop in customer traffic. Accordingly, inFIG. 4C thering protection networks - Flowcharts representative of example machine readable instructions for implementing the ring
protection network module 200 ofFIG. 2 are shown inFIGS. 5 and 6 . In this example, the machine readable instructions comprise a program/process for execution by a processor such as theprocessor 712 shown in theexample processor platform 700 discussed below in connection withFIG. 7 . The program(s)/process(es) may be embodied in executable instructions (e.g., software) stored on a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associated with theprocessor 712, but the entire program/process and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than theprocessor 712 and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware. Further, although the example program(s)/process(es) is/are described with reference to the flowcharts illustrated inFIGS. 5 and 6 , many other methods of implementing the example ringprotection network module 200 may alternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined. - The
example process 500 ofFIG. 5 begins with an initiation of the ring protection network module 200 (e.g., upon startup, upon instructions from a user, upon startup of a device implementing the ring protection network module 200 (e.g., an enclosure processor), etc.). Theprocess 500 ofFIG. 5 may be executed to join the tworing protection network FIG. 1A to create thering protection network 150 ofFIG. 1B . Atblock 510 ofFIG. 5 , the ringprotection network module 200 establishes communication links between a first ring protection network and a second ring protection network to form a management network ring. For example, atblock 510, the ringprotection network module 200 may be part of the first ring protection network and may be connected to or detect a connection (e.g., viaowner identifier 210 analyzing CCP messages) to a ring protection network module of the second ring protection network module. Atblock 510, the ring protection networks may be in communication with a service network (e.g., the service network 130). - At
block 520 of theexample process 500 ofFIG. 5 , the ringprotection network module 200 determines an owner of the management network ring. For example, atblock 520, theowner selector 220 may select an owner of the first ring protection network or an owner of the second ring protection network to be the owner of the management network ring. In theexample process 500 ofFIG. 5 , atblock 530, thenetwork uplink manager 240 of the network module establishes a single uplink between one network module of the management network ring and the service network. For example, atblock 530, thenetwork uplink manager 240 may disable other uplinks between network modules of the management network ring (e.g., an uplink from one of the first ring protection network or second ring protection network). Afterblock 530, theexample process 500 ends. - The
example process 600 ofFIG. 6 begins with an initiation of the ringprotection network module 200. In examples disclosed herein, each of the ring protection network modules 102 may be implemented by executing theprocess 600 ofFIG. 6 simultaneously or substantially simultaneously while connected to a same ring protection network or a plurality of ring protection networks in communication with one another. Atblock 610, theowner identifier 210 identifies a first owner of a first ring protection network, For example, theowner identifier 210 may identify the ringprotection network module 102 b to be the owner of the firstring protection network 110 ofFIG. 1A . Atblock 620, theowner identifier 210 may send an owner identification via a management network ring (e.g., the MAC address of the ringprotection network module 102 b) to ring protection network modules in communication with the first ring protection network (e.g., to any of the ring protection network modules 102 ofFIGS. 1A or 1B ). The first owner identification identifies an owner of the first network of the ringprotection network module 200. - At
block 630 of theexample process 600 ofFIG. 6 , theowner identifier 210 of the ringprotection network module 200 ofFIG. 2 receives a second owner identification that is different form the first owner identification via the management network ring. For example, the ringprotection network module 102 d may receive an owner identification indicating a first owner of the firstring protection network 110 from the ringprotection network module 102 a. Atblock 640, the owner selector replaces the first owner with the second owner to control communication between the first network and the service network based on the difference between the second owner identification and the first owner identification by assigning the second owner identification to the network module. Afterblock 640, the example process ends. - As mentioned above, the example processes 500, 600 of
FIGS. 5 and/or 6 may be implemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readable instructions) stored on a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, a random-access memory (RAM) and/or any other storage device or storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the term tangible computer readable storage medium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. As used herein, “tangible computer readable storage medium” and “tangible machine readable storage medium” are used interchangeably. Additionally or alternatively, the example processes ofFIGS. 5 and/or 6 may be implemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/or machine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, a random-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the term non-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in a preamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” is open ended. As used herein the term “a” or “an” may mean “at least one,” and therefore, “a” or “an” do not necessarily limit a particular element to a single element when used to describe the element. As used herein, when the term “or” is used in a series, it is not, unless otherwise indicated, considered an “exclusive or.” -
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of anexample processor platform 700 capable of executing the instructions ofFIGS. 5 and/or 6 to implement the ringprotection network module 200 ofFIG. 2 . Theexample processor platform 700 may be or may be included in any type of apparatus, such as a server, a personal computer, an Internet appliance, or any other type of computing device. - The
processor platform 700 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 7 includes aprocessor 712. Theprocessor 712 of the illustrated example is hardware, For example, theprocessor 712 can be implemented by at least one integrated circuit, logic circuit, microprocessor or controller from any desired family or manufacturer. - The
processor 712 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 713 (e.g., a cache). Theprocessor 712 of the illustrated example is in communication with a main memory including avolatile memory 714 and anon-volatile memory 716 via abus 718. Thevolatile memory 714 may be implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM) and/or any other type of random access memory device. Thenon-volatile memory 716 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to themain memory - The
processor platform 700 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 720. Theinterface circuit 720 may be implemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) express interface. - In the illustrated example, at least one
input device 722 is connected to theinterface circuit 720. The input device(s) 722 permit(s) a user to enter data and commands into theprocessor 712. The input device(s) can be implemented by, for example, a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, etc. - At least one
output device 724 is also connected to theinterface circuit 720 of the illustrated example. The output device(s) 724 can be implemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emitting diode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystal display, a cathode ray tube display (CRT), a touchscreen, a tactile output device, a light emitting diode (LED), a printer and/or speakers). Theinterface circuit 720 of the illustrated example, thus, may include a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip or a graphics driver processor. - The
interface circuit 720 of the illustrated example also includes a communication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a modem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network 726 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.). - The
processor platform 700 of the illustrated example also includes at least onemass storage device 728 for storing executable instructions (e.g., software) and/or data. Examples of such mass storage device(s) 728 include floppy disk drives, hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAID systems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives. - The coded
instructions 732 ofFIGS. 5 and/or 6 may be stored in themass storage device 728, in thelocal memory 713 in thevolatile memory 714, in thenon-volatile memory 716, and/or on a removable tangible computer readable storage medium such as a CD or DVD. - From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the above disclosed methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture provide ring protection network modules to facilitate automatic configuration of a ring protection network. The example ring protection network modules may automatically select an owner of a ring protection network and establish a single uplink between the ring protection network and a service network. For example, two ring protection networks comprised of the ring protection network modules disclosed herein may be joined, and, using the example communication protocols disclosed herein, the ring protection network modules may automatically establish a single owner of the joined ring protection networks and a single uplink with a service network from the joined ring protection networks.
- Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the claims of this patent.
Claims (15)
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US11729022B2 (en) | 2021-12-17 | 2023-08-15 | Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development Lp | Uplink connectivity in ring networks |
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